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Gardening Advice
It’s that magical time of year when your tomato plants look like they’ve exploded in color—red, green, yellow, and orange. Instead of letting a few “wrinkly” or cracked tomatoes go to waste, learn how to rescue, ripen, and roast your way to a garden-to-table feast that would make even a grocery store tomato jealous.Rescuing Imperfect TomatoesTomatoes do not need to be those perfect,…
Not all green tomatoes are “unripe”! While most of us wait for our tomatoes to blush red, some varieties like ‘Aunt Ruby’s German Green’ and ‘Green Zebra’ stay green, bringing bold flavor and color to your kitchen. Think of them as the sneaky rebels of the tomato world—ripe, ready, and begging to be sliced for sandwiches, salads, or fried delights.If you’ve had an unripe red tomato, it’s…
Who says summer has to take all the glory? Just when you think your garden’s show is over, fall blooms crash the party with fiery reds, golds, and purples that steal the spotlight. From surprise lilies popping up like magic to shrubs flaunting their fall fashion, here’s your ultimate guide to 50 plants that keep the color coming well into the crisp days of September and October.Foxglove that…
Ever been curious about how to can? From mouthwatering tomato sauce to crisp pickles to luscious jams, canning captures fresh produce at the peak of flavor—so you can store it through the winter! Learn how to can with our beginner guide!What Is Canning?Think of canning as a form of cooking. Instead of cooking one meal for immediate consumption, you are cooking food that you can…
The secret to more flowers next season? Prune at the right time. Every flowering shrub or tree follows its own cycle, depending on whether it sets buds on old or new wood. Prune too early or too late, and you risk cutting off next year’s blooms before they even appear.
This guide covers everything you need to know—plus, our interactive Pruning Time Finder tool will give you tailored timing for…
Got weeds? Great! Your next salad might be growing between the cracks in your walkway. From dandelions to purslane, many so-called “weeds” are actually nutrient-rich powerhouses just waiting to be harvested. Whether you’re an aspiring forager or just want to make weeding more fun, it’s time to see your backyard in a whole new (and delicious) way.From the first dandelion rosettes in the…
By late summer, stinging insects—including bees such as ground wasps and yellowjackets, and those nasty fire ants—are especially aggressive outdoors and in the garden. Why does this happen, and what can we do about the problem? Why Stinging Insects Are More Aggressive You’ll see much more activity from stinging insects from August through October. Why?They’ve had all…
After watching my neighbor spray the weeds in his driveway with a cancer-causing herbicide, I thought I should look into some natural “weed killers” to rid my yard of unwanted plants. Here are a few homegrown ways to get rid of competing plants while still keeping people, pets, wildlife, and waterways safe.Get to the Root of the ProblemWithout a doubt, the best way to get rid…
A quintessential summer flower, the sunflower has so many amazing uses—from cooking to crafts! Not only are sunflowers pretty, they’re also entirely edible! See lots of great ways to make the most of sunflowers.Sunflowers: A Pretty Native American PlantHonored as the state flower in both Kansas and Nebraska, there are about 70 species of sunflowers. Most are native to the Great…
Bees, wasps, and hornets may look alike and belong to the same order of insects, Hymenoptera, but they are different insects. How can you distinguish between a hornet vs wasp and a bee? The words hornet and wasp are all too often used interchangeably, but there will be no need to do that after you’ve learned all about their key differences. The biggest and most key…
Have you ever struggled with keeping a plant happy? Maybe your soil is too heavy and suffocating its roots, or perhaps it drains too quickly and dries out before your plant can thrive. If so, then vermiculite might be the answer you’ve been looking for! So, grab your gardening tools and learn how this mineral can help your plants flourish. What is Vermiculite?Vermiculite is made…
There is no magic bullet for keeping your garden and indoor plants free from insect pests. Some tricks I have learned over the years provide ways to cope with bugs without resorting to nasty chemicals. Here are my tips for pest control, including homemade insecticidal sprays (soap sprays) and organic pesticides.Pest Control Starts With YouBefore resorting to using pesticides (even…
